Photos

Built on the banks of the Rhone River (since 1401 to 1449) by Louis II of Anjou and his son Roi René I of Naples, on the site of an earlier defensive structure, the Château de Tarascon was designed to protect the Provence region. It was an important strategic location due to its position at the bottom of the Rhone Valley and on several important trade routes.

Despite the austere outside with its strong and solid appearance, the interior of the castle was finely and richly furnished and decorated, although little now remains of this fine decoration. The castle is now entered by a small bridge (part of this bridge was originally a drawbridge) which passes into the 'lower courtyard', from which the main castle can be accessed.

After the 15th century the region became part of France and Tarascon was no longer strategically important, although it still served as a castle during the Wars of Religion, playing a role against the protestants of the Languedoc region.

By the middle of the 17th century Tarascon had been pressed into service as a prison, a role it was to hold until almost the end of the 18th century, and sporadically into the 19th century.

The Bastille, the well known fortress and state prison in Paris destroyed in 1789 during the French revolution, was very similar to Château de Tarascon. A very significant military feature of both buildings are the walls and towers of the same height and width, connected by a broad terrace. This enabled soldiers to rapidly move to a threatened sector of the fortress without having to descend inside the towers, as well as allowing placement of artillery.